Component carrier and method for manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A component carrier including an electrically insulating core, at least one electronic component embedded in the core, and a coupling structure with at least one electrically conductive through-connection extending at least partially therethrough and having a component contacting end and a wiring contacting end. The electronic component directly contacts the component contacting end. The wiring contacting end is directly electrically contacted to the wiring structure. The exterior surface portion of the coupling structure has homogeneous ablation properties and surface recesses filled with an electrically conductive wiring structure. A method includes embedding an electronic component in an electrically insulating core, providing a coupling structure with a conductive connection having a component end and a wiring end, connecting the electronic component directly to the component end, providing a surface portion of the coupling structure with homogeneous ablation properties, patterning the surface portion with recesses and filling the recesses with a wiring structure such that the wiring end is contacted directly.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a US national phase application of internationalpatent application PCT/EP2015/079933 filed on Dec. 16, 2015, whichclaims the benefit of the filing date of German Patent Application No.10 2014 118 788.1, filed on Dec. 16, 2014, the disclosures of which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a component carrier, and to a method ofmanufacturing a component carrier.

TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

In the context of growing product functionalities of component carriersequipped with one or more embedded electronic components and increasingminiaturization of such electronic components as well as a rising numberof electronic components to be mounted on an/or in component carrierssuch as printed circuit boards, increasingly more powerful array-likecomponents or packages having several electronic components are beingemployed, which have a plurality of contacts or connections, with eversmaller spacing between these contacts. Contacting embedded electroniccomponents as well as surface mounted electronic components thereforebecomes more and more challenging. At the same time, component carriersshall be mechanically robust so as to be operable even under harshconditions.

There may be a need to provide a component carrier with embeddedelectronic component which can be contacted in a simple and reliableway.

SUMMARY

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a componentcarrier for carrying electronic components is provided, wherein thecomponent carrier comprises an at least partially electricallyinsulating core, at least one electronic component embedded in the core,and a coupling structure with at least one electrically conductivethrough-connection extending at least partially therethrough and havinga component contacting end and a wiring contacting end, wherein the atleast one electronic component is electrically contacted directly (i.e.without further members in between) to the component contacting end,wherein at least an exterior surface portion of the coupling structurehas homogeneous ablation properties and is patterned so as to havesurface recesses filled with an electrically conductive wiringstructure, and wherein the wiring contacting end is electricallycontacted directly (i.e. without further members in between) to thewiring structure.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method ofmanufacturing a component carrier for carrying electronic components isprovided, wherein the method comprises embedding at least one electroniccomponent in an at least partially electrically insulating core,providing a coupling structure with at least one electrically conductivethrough-connection extending at least partially therethrough and beingformed with a component contacting end and a wiring contacting end,electrically contacting the at least one electronic component directlyto the component contacting end, providing at least an exterior surfaceportion of the coupling structure with homogeneous ablation properties,patterning the exterior surface portion so as to form surface recesses,and filling the surface recesses with an electrically conductive wiringstructure so that the wiring contacting end is electrically contacteddirectly to the wiring structure.

In the context of the present application, the term “coupling structure”may particularly denote a partially electrically insulating structurewith one or more integrated electrically conductive through-connections.Such a coupling structure may be configured as a coupling body which maybe provided separately from the at least partially electricallyinsulating core and may be a preformed or prefabricated member orintermediate structure serving for directly contacting pads (or otherelectric contacts) of the electronic component with regard to anexterior component carrying surface of the component carrier. In anotherembodiment, a coupling structure is formed by a coupling body of theabove-mentioned type combined with a coupling layer also contributing tothe electric coupling of the embedded electronic component.

In the context of the present application, the term “through-connection”may denote particularly an electrically conductive structure providingfor an electric contact between a pad (or another electric contact) ofthe embedded electronic component and an exterior component carryingsurface of the component carrier. A component carrying surface of thecomponent carrier may be a surface which is adapted for surface mountingone or more electronic components such as semiconductor chips. Such athrough connection may extend substantially or entirely perpendicularwith regard to opposing main surfaces or component carrying surfaces ofthe component carrier.

In the context of the present application, the term “homogeneousablation properties” of the exterior surface portion of the couplingstructure may particularly denote that at least in this portion exposedto an environment the material composition is of such a kind that thesurface material consists of one (in particular dielectric) material orof a combination of several dielectric and/or electrically conductivematerials so that, when applying an ablation process to this surfaceportion, the material can be removable with a constant ablation rate.Such an ablation rate may be a parameter indicative of the amount ofmaterial removed per time for which the ablation procedure (inparticular a laser ablation procedure or an etching ablation procedure)is active. For example, when laser ablation is applied, the applicationof the laser beam will result in the removal of material from thesurface portion of the coupling structure with a homogeneous or constantablation rate. Homogeneous ablation properties may for instance beachieved by forming the surface portion of a single material (such aspure resin) rather than forming it, for example, from a mixture of resinand glass fibers. In the latter example of resin and glass fibers,homogeneous ablation properties cannot be achieved, since the ablationrate of glass fibers is significantly smaller than the ablation rate ofthe resin material.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a highlyadvantageous contacting architecture for directly contacting one or moreembedded electronic components is provided which is based on the directattachment of a coupling structure with its component contacting end(s)on one or more pads (or other electric contacts) of the electroniccomponent (such as a semiconductor chip). The through-connection(s)extend(s) preferably vertically through the coupling structure andserve(s) for accomplishing, as an electrically conductive bridge, anelectric contact between the pad(s) of the electronic component and thewiring structure by contacting the wiring structure at the wiringcontacting end. By forming the exposed surface portion of the couplingstructure from a material with homogeneous ablation properties, a simpleablation process then allows to flexibly design any desired wiringstructure as external wiring pattern in the surface portion of thecircuit structure in a way to provide a contact to the (for instancestill buried) wiring contacting end of the at least onethrough-connection. With this contacting architecture, it is possible toprovide an ultrafine line wiring when interconnecting one or moreembedded electronic components with an external surface of the componentcarrier (or with one or more further electronic components surfacemounted on such an external surface of the component carrier). The oneor more embedded electronic components may be contacted directly andwithout a cumbersome redistribution layer by the use of at least onethrough-connection contacted via an application specific ablation of theexterior surface portion of the coupling structure with homogeneousablation properties. Such a component interconnecting technique allowsfor a landless or substantially landless interconnection of anelectronic component to a patterned layer of a component carrier such asa printed circuit board. It may advantageously allow for an ultrafinelining with a grooving/plating process. Thereby, a novel type of firstlevel interconnection of the electronic components may be accomplished.

In the following, further exemplary embodiments of the componentcarrier, and the method of manufacturing a component carrier will beexplained.

In an embodiment, at least the exterior surface portion of the couplingstructure is made of a material free of glass fibers. Therefore, thesurface portion may be neither prepreg nor FR4 (both having glassfibers) which would deteriorate the desired homogeneous ablationproperties of the coupling structure. By providing the exterior surfaceportion of the coupling structure, more particularly the entireelectrically insulating material of the coupling structure, from amaterial free of glass fibers, a precise and small dimensioneddefinition of the wiring structure is guaranteed which is not disturbedby regions having poor, spatially varying or undefined ablationproperties.

In an embodiment, at least the exterior surface portion of the couplingstructure comprises at least one of the group consisting of a pureresin, a palladium doped resin, a copper oxide doped resin, and aphotoresist. These materials are particularly preferred examplesproviding substantially homogeneous ablation properties and arenevertheless compatible with printed circuit board technology, being apreferred example for the component carrier. Moreover, when usingmaterials such as a palladium doped resin or a copper oxide doped resin,electroless plating (as a starting procedure of the formation of thewiring structure) may be initiated selectively on these materials withhigh efficiency, so that the electroless plating of metallic material onother surface portions of the component carrier may be efficientlysuppressed. This may advantageously render a polishing procedureunnecessary.

In an embodiment, the at least one through-connection comprises at leastone pillar, in particular at least one circular cylindrical pillarand/or a plurality of pillars aligned parallel to one another. Suchpillars may be electrically conductive posts extending through thecoupling structure and providing for the contact between the electroniccomponent and the wiring structure. They may particularly have acircular cross-section, or alternatively a polygonal (for instancerectangular) cross-section. By an arrangement of for instancematrix-like arranged pillars, a user is provided with a high degree offreedom of designing a desired wiring structure matching with the atleast one embedded electronic component and being contacted in anapplication specific way via the pattern of pillars.

In an embodiment, an exterior surface of the wiring structure flusheswith an exterior surface of the exterior surface portion of the couplingstructure. Correspondingly, the wiring structure may be fully embeddedwithin the surface portion of the coupling structure without protrudingbeyond the surface portion. In other words, the exterior surface portionof the wiring pattern and the exterior surface portion of the couplingstructure may form a common planar surface without pronounced topologyso that the wiring structure may even be structurally integrated intothe exterior surface portion of the coupling structure withoutprotruding therefrom. The wiring structure is therefore securelyprotected from damage during use.

In an embodiment, the component carrier comprises at least one furtherelectrically conductive wiring structure on a main surface of thecomponent carrier opposing another main surface thereof at which theexterior surface portion of the coupling structure and the wiringstructure are located. Therefore, both opposing main surfaces of thecomponent carrier may be configured in accordance with the wiringtechnology according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention inwhich the respective wiring structure is formed by ablating materialfrom a corresponding surface portion with homogeneous ablationproperties, followed by a filling of correspondingly formed recesses orgrooves with electrically conductive material. Thus, the space savingand fine lined wiring architecture may be applied on both opposing mainsurfaces of the component carrier, or only on one.

In an embodiment, the component carrier comprises an adhesive structure(in particular of a cured or hardened adhesive) located at leastpartially between the coupling structure and the at least one electroniccomponent embedded in the core. Correspondingly, the method may furthercomprise forming a soft adhesive structure between the at least oneelectronic component and the at least one component contact end at anexposed surface of the coupling structure, and connecting (in particularpressing) the at least one electronic component and the couplingstructure together to thereby squeeze the soft adhesive away from acontact area (in particular from a protruding pad of the electroniccomponent) between the component contact end and the at least oneelectronic component. The (cured or hardened) adhesive material of thereadily manufactured component carrier between the coupling structureand the embedded electronic component may result from an advantageousmanufacturing procedure in which, before embedding the electroniccomponent in the core, the electronic component is adhered to acomponent carrying surface of the coupling structure by adhesivematerial. The adhesive material may be applied as a layer of softadhesive material between coupling structure and electronic component sothat, after pressing the electronic component and the coupling structureto one another, the adhesive material will be squeezed away from theslightly protruding contacts or pads of the electronic component.Thereby, a proper electronic coupling between electronic component andthe at least one through-connection is ensured while also providing fora robust mechanical connection between coupling structure and theelectronic component to be embedded.

In an embodiment, at least one of the wiring structure, and the at leastone through-connection comprises or consists of at least one of thegroup consisting of copper, aluminum, and nickel. In particular copperis preferred, since it is completely compatible with printed circuitboard technology, according to which the component carrier ismanufactured in accordance with a preferred embodiment. Using only asingle metal provides for a simple manufacturability whilesimultaneously preventing problems with different electricallyconductive materials such as contact resistance effects, differentthermal expansion, etc.

In an embodiment, dielectric material of the coupling structurecomprises a matrix and filler particles embedded in the matrix, whereinthe material of the matrix and of the filler particles have homogeneousablation properties. The use of filler particles has the advantage thatthe properties of the coupling structure may be precisely controlled.For example, such filler particles may influence the thermalconductivity of the material of the coupling structure, the ablationcapability, the capability of depositing in particular electricallyconductive material thereon, etc.

In an embodiment, the filler particles are selected from a groupconsisting of beads (such as spheres, like glass spheres), and organicfibres. In contrast to glass fibers, sufficiently small dimensionedglass spheres or beads of other shape do not significantly change theablation properties compared to the matrix material (such as a resin),but nevertheless allow to improve the structural integrity of thecomponent carrier. Also organic fibers may be designed to havesubstantially the same ablation properties as the matrix.

In an embodiment, a lateral extension (such as a width) of traces of thewiring structure is narrower than a lateral extension (such as adiameter) of the at least one through-connection. Since the width of thewiring structure can be defined by an ablation procedure such asmechanical drilling or laser ablation, its dimension can be renderedvery small. Therefore, the through-connections in this case serve as anadaptation structure for adapting dimensions of the wiring structure todimensions of a pad of the electronic device. The connection technologyaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the invention is hencecompatible with very small dimensioned wiring structures.

In an embodiment, a lateral extension (such as a width) of traces of thewiring structure is broader than a lateral extension (such as adiameter) of the at least one through-connection. In this alternativeembodiment, the dimensions of the wiring pattern may be laterally evenlarger than those of the through-connections. This can be advantageousin an embodiment, in which components mounted on an exterior mainsurface of the component carrier require a relatively large dimensionedwiring structure.

In an embodiment, the at least one through-connection has a cylindricalshape with an aspect ratio of larger than 1. In particular, the aspectratio, i.e. a ratio between length in vertical direction and diameter inhorizontal direction, of the through-connections may be larger than 1.5or even larger than 2. Therefore, even electronic components buried orembedded deeply within an interior of the component carrier may beprecisely connected via the through-connections.

In an embodiment, the method comprises connecting the at least oneelectronic component to the coupling structure prior to embedding the atleast one electronic component in the core. Thus, the coupling structuremay be firstly connected electrically and mechanically to the electroniccomponent to be embedded, before an integral arrangement of couplingstructure and electronic component may then be inserted into acorrespondingly shaped recess of the core for completing the embedding.Thus, the effort for contacting the embedded electronic component can bekept small with this technology.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises forming the surfacerecesses (for defining the wiring structure) by laser drilling. Laserdrilling is considered as particularly appropriate for forming anydesired wiring structure, which can be easily adapted to a specificapplication, by simply defining a trajectory along which a laser beamoperates on the exposed surface portion of the coupling structure havinghomogeneous ablation properties. Two opposing main surfaces of thecomponent carrier can be processed simultaneously or sequentially bysuch a laser ablation treatment.

In another embodiment, the method comprises forming the surface recesses(for defining the wiring structure) by etching, in particular byphotolithographic etching and/or followed by a second step usingreactive ion etching (RIE). According to such an architecture, surfacematerial may be patterned by etching in order to define the wiringpattern.

As a further alternative, the wiring pattern in the exposed surfaceportion having homogeneous ablation properties may be performed inanother way, for instance by mechanical drilling or by embossing.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises forming at least oneaccommodation volume (such as a blind hole) within the core,accommodating the at least one electronic component (and optionally atleast part of the contact structure) in the at least one accommodationvolume, and connecting the core with the at least one electroniccomponent (for instance by pressing, alternatively by adhering). Such anaccommodation volume may be formed by etching or punching foils ofprepreg material or the like, wherein thereafter one or more of suchpre-treated foils may be used for embedding electronic components incorresponding accommodation volumes.

In an embodiment, an interface (i.e. a connection region) between the atleast one electronic component and the at least one through-connectionis free of a redistribution layer (RDL). Therefore, by not providing aredistribution layer between electronic component and couplingstructure, a simple connection with a compact design is renderedpossible. It may be advantageous when, as shown in FIG. 4, the copperpillars and the dielectric (see reference numeral 106) end at the samelevel. This can be done in a simple way: After copper pillar bumping ofthe wafer level, the wafer may be coated with a dielectric andmechanical grinded to expose the pillars. This flat component is indirect contact to the dielectric for laser grooving.

In an embodiment, the at least one electronic component and at leastpart of the coupling structure are integrally formed, in particular areintegrally formed in a semiconductor substrate (such as a siliconwafer). Correspondingly, the method may further comprise providing theat least one electronic component and at least part of the couplingstructure as monolithically integrated structure within a commonsemiconductor substrate. In other words, electronic component and atleast part of the coupling structure may form a common die. Hence, theat least one through connection may directly contact at least oneintegrated circuit element of the electronic component to be embedded.Both through connection and circuit element may be surrounded bysemiconductor material of the common substrate. Thus, an electronic andmechanical interface between the wiring structure and the integratedcircuit elements of the electronic component to be embedded may beformed in semiconductor technology.

In an embodiment, the patterning and the filling are carried out so thatthe wiring structure is directly electrically connected to the at leastone wiring contacting end of the at least one through-connection exposedby the patterning. Hence, a landless or substantially landlessconnection is possible, rendering the connection procedure simple andthe resulting component carrier compact.

In an embodiment, filling the surface recesses formed by the patterningis performed by an electroless deposition of electrically conductivematerial followed by a galvanic deposition of further electricallyconductive material. Therefore, first a metal layer may be deposited,followed by a galvanic deposition of further metallic material tofurther (in particular fully) fill a recess for forming the wiringstructure. This combination of two deposition procedures allows themanufacture of a robust and reliable wiring structure.

In an embodiment, the method comprises polishing at least the exposedsurface portion of the coupling structure and the exposed wiringstructure after formation of the wiring structure by deposition, inparticular by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). After the previouslydescribed two-stage wiring structure formation procedure (in particularby electroless plating and electroplating), it may happen that theexterior surface of the correspondingly processed component carrier isnon-planar or uneven and that electrically conductive material islocated also at positions at which it is undesired. Achemical-mechanical polishing procedure may ensure that planarity isachieved while having a spatially precisely defined wiring structure.

In an embodiment, the method comprises attaching an electricallyconductive mask layer (for instance a copper film) and a photoresistlayer on the exterior surface portion of the coupling structure (inparticular on an exterior coupling layer thereof). The method mayfurther comprise patterning the photoresist layer and the electricallyconductive mask layer to thereby expose part of the exterior surfaceportion of the coupling structure (in particular such surface portionsof the coupling structure at which the wiring structure is to beformed). Then, material of the previously exposed part of the exteriorsurface portion of the coupling structure can be selectively removed (inparticular by a laser treatment or by etching) to thereby expose atleast part of the at least one wiring contacting end of the at least onethrough-connection. Subsequently, the so formed surface recesses may befilled (in particular partially) with electrically conductive materialto thereby form the wiring structure in contact with the exposed atleast one wiring contacting end. In particular, this formation of thewiring structure may be performed by an electroless deposition procedurefollowed by a galvanic deposition procedure. The material of thecoupling layer may be selected (for instance of palladium doped resin)so that electroless deposition of metallic material will mainly orexclusively occur on the exposed surface of the patterned coupling layer(rather than for instance on the photoresist layer). Advantageously, themetal mask layer may be used for applying an electric voltage during thegalvanic deposition procedure.

Still referring to the previously described embodiment, the method mayfurther comprise removing the photoresist layer and the electricallyconductive mask layer after the filling. Then, the manufacture of thecomponent carrier may be completed. By such a procedure, thechemical-mechanical polishing procedure described above referring toanother embodiment can be omitted, which further simplifies themanufacturing procedure.

Preferably, the component carrier is however configured as a circuitboard, in particular as one of the group consisting of a printed circuitboard, a substrate, and an interposer. Other types of circuit boards canbe implemented as well.

In the context of the present application, a “printed circuit board”(PCB) may denote a board of an electrically insulating core (inparticular made of a compound of glass fibers and resin) covered withelectrically conductive material and conventionally serving for carryingthereon one or more electronic members (such as packaged electronicchips, sockets, etc.) to be electrically coupled by the electricallyconductive material. More specifically, a PCB may mechanically supportand electrically connect electronic components using conductive tracks,pads and other features etched from metal structures such as coppersheets laminated onto an electrically non-conductive substrate. PCBs canbe single sided (i.e. may have only one of its main surfaces covered bya, in particular patterned, metal layer), double sided (i.e. may haveboth of its two opposing main surfaces covered by a, in particularpatterned, metal layer) or of multi-layer type (i.e. having also one ormore, in particular patterned, metal layers in its interior). Conductorson different layers may be connected to one another with plated-throughholes which may be denoted as vias. PCBs may also contain one or moreelectronic components, such as capacitors, resistors or active devices,embedded in the electrically insulating core.

In the context of the present application, an “interposer” may denote anelectrical interface device routing between one connection to another. Apurpose of an interposer may be to spread a connection to a wider pitchor to reroute a connection to a different connection. One example of aninterposer is an electrical interface between an electronic chip (suchas an integrated circuit die) to a ball grid array (BGA).

In the context of the present application, a “substrate” may denote aphysical body, for instance comprising a ceramic and/or glass material,onto which electronic components are to be mounted.

In an embodiment, the electrically insulating material of the corecomprises at least one of the group consisting of resin, in particularBismaleimide-Triazine resin, glass fibers, prepreg material, polyimide,liquid crystal polymer, epoxy-based Build-Up Film, and FR4 material. Theresin material may serve as a matrix material having the desireddielectric properties and being cheap and highly appropriate for massproduction. The glass fibers may reinforce the circuit board and maystabilize it mechanically. Furthermore, the glass fibers may introducean anisotropic property of the respective circuit board, if desired.Prepreg is a suitable material for the circuit board, since it isalready a mixture of resin and glass fibers which can be furtherprocessed (and particular tempered) for converting it into PCB typedielectric material. FR4 is a flame-resistant dielectric material forPCBs which can be suitably used for the packaging concept according toexemplary embodiments.

The embedded electronic component may particularly denote any activeelectronic component (such as an electronic chip, in particular asemiconductor chip) or any passive electronic component (such as acapacitor). Examples of the embedded components are a data storagememory such as a DRAM (or any other memory), a microprocessor, a filter(which may for instance be configured as a high pass filter, a low passfilter or a bandpass filter, and which may for instance serve forfrequency filtering), an integrated circuit (such as a logic IC), asignal processing component (such as a microprocessor), a powermanagement component, an optical electrically interfacing member (forinstance an optoelectronic member), a voltage converter (such as a DC/DCconverter or an AC/DC converter), a cryptographic component, acapacitor, an inductance, a switch (for instance a transistor-basedswitch) and a combination of these and other functional electronicmembers.

The aspects defined above and further aspects of the invention areapparent from the examples of embodiment to be described hereinafter andare explained with reference to these examples of embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in more detail hereinafter withreference to examples of embodiment but to which the invention is notlimited.

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a component carrieraccording to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a component carrieraccording to another exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a component carrieraccording to yet another exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 illustrate structures obtained duringcarrying out a method of manufacturing a component carrier according toan exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8, FIG. 9, FIG. 10, FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 illustrate structuresobtained during carrying out a method of manufacturing a componentcarrier according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates a wafer, prior to singularization, comprising aplurality of structures similar to those shown in FIG. 4 obtained bysemiconductor processing as monolithically integrated body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The illustrations in the drawings are schematical. In differentdrawings, similar or identical elements are provided with the samereference signs.

Before exemplary embodiments will be described in further detailreferring to the figures, some general considerations of the presentinventor will be presented based on which exemplary embodiments havebeen developed.

According to an exemplary embodiment, an embedded component withultra-fine line and fine pitch interconnection is provided. Such anembedded component package is particularly appropriate for high voltageapplications. Among others, exemplary embodiments of the invention havethe following advantages: An interconnect technology to the chip isprovided which is simple and efficient. A landless interconnection tothe patterning layer on the PCB becomes possible. Exemplary embodimentsfurthermore provide an ultra-fine line technology with a new groovingand/or plating process. Moreover, exemplary embodiments enable a firstlevel interconnection to the chip, and no redistribution layer (RDL) isneeded. Exemplary fields of applications for which exemplary embodimentsare particularly applicable are embedded fan out packages, high densityembedded modules, and high density substrates (for instance with <8 μmL/S).

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a component carrier 100according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1 inparticular shows an embodiment having an interconnection on copperpillars, as through-connections 108, with laser grooved copper filledtraces, as wiring structure 110.

More specifically, FIG. 1 shows the plate-shaped component carrier 100being configured as a printed circuit board (PCB) which is adapted forcarrying electronic components (not shown, for instance packagedsemiconductor chips) on both of its two opposing main surfaces 118, 120.

The component carrier 100 comprises electrically insulating core 102. Inthe shown embodiment, the core 102 is formed of three stacked foils. Thetwo lower foils, made of FR4 or prepreg (in particular a combination ofresin and glass fibers), are perforated (i.e. are provided with throughholes) to delimit an accommodation volume. The upper foil is continuous.The upper foil may either be also made of FR4 or prepreg, or may be madeof a material having homogeneous ablation properties such as pure resin(which will allow the formation of wiring structure 116 in anadvantageous way).

An electronic component 104, which is here embodied as a semiconductorchip with pads or electric contacts 160, is received in theaccommodation volume and therefore embedded in the core 102. Theelectronic component 104 is therefore buried within an interior of thecomponent carrier 100.

A coupling body 106 of the component carrier 100 comprises a pluralityof parallel aligned circular cylindrical copper pillars as electricallyconductive through-connections 108 extending vertically (andperpendicular to the main surfaces 118, 120) through surroundingdielectric material of the coupling body 106 in which thethrough-connections 108 are embedded. Each of the through-connections108 has two opposing end surfaces constituting a component contactingend 112 and a wiring contacting end 114, respectively. The electriccontacts 160 of the embedded electronic component 104 are electricallycontacted directly to the component contacting end 112 to thereby form adirect electrically conductive connection between the electroniccomponent 104 and the through-connections 108.

A dielectric exterior surface portion of the coupling body 106 (i.e. thedielectric material, for instance pure resin, of the coupling body 106at the lower main surface 120) has homogeneous ablation properties andis patterned so as to have surface recesses filled with an electricallyconductive wiring structure 110. By the patterning (preferably by laserablation) of the exposed dielectric material of the coupling structure106 and the filling of the correspondingly formed recesses,substantially any desired design of the wiring structure 110 may bedefined. As can be taken from FIG. 1, the wiring contacting end 114 iselectrically contacted directly to the wiring structure 110.

In order to render the ablation properties of the exposed dielectricmaterial of the coupling body 106 homogeneous or constant over theentire dielectric area of the dielectric material of the coupling body106 at the lower main surface 120 to enable a proper definition of thewiring structure 110, the exterior dielectric surface portion of thecoupling body 106 is made of pure resin being free of glass fibres.Alternatively, it is however possible that the exposed dielectricmaterial of the coupling body 106 comprises a matrix and fillerparticles embedded in the matrix, when the material of the matrix and ofthe filler particles have homogeneous ablation properties. For instance,such filler particles may comprise small sized glass spheres and/ororganic fibres.

Since an exterior surface of the wiring structure 110 flushes with anexterior surface of the coupling body 106 at the lower main surface 120,the latter is flat and therefore not prone to damage during use.

As can be taken from FIG. 1 as well, the component carrier 100 comprisesa further electrically conductive wiring structure 116 on the upper mainsurface 118 of the component carrier 100.

Referring to a detail 170 shown in FIG. 1, a width, d, of traces of thewiring structure 110 is smaller than a diameter, D, of the cylindricalpillars of the through-connections 108.

The component carrier 100 according to FIG. 1 allows to make anultra-fine line wiring and provides a simple manufacturing procedure forforming the interconnection to embedded electronic components 104 suchas dies. Such an ultra-fine line interconnection enables a level 1interconnection directly to the chip without using a redistributionlayer (RDL).

The interconnection of the die is formed with copper pillars instead ofcopper pads. With this architecture it is possible to bring the ends ofthe copper pillars close to the surface of the PCB after embedding, forinstance by transfer embedding (which may be implemented according to AT514074, which is hereby incorporated by reference). For transferembedding according to an exemplary embodiment, it is possible to mountone or multiple coupling structures (for example integrally formed withthe electronic component(s) to be embedded) on a dimensionally stabletemporary carrier and to attach to the resulting arrangement (forinstance by applying a certain pressure, preferably in a vacuumenvironment) a soft resin coated copper foil (or any other soft adhesivecoated electrically conductive wiring structure). The soft adhesive mayform a coupling layer of the coupling structure (see reference numeral202). The coupling structure may have, integrated therein, copperpillars or any other at least one electrically conductivethrough-connection. But taking this measure, the copper pillars may bedirectly contacted to the copper foil. After curing, the temporarycarrier may then be removed. Subsequently, a printed circuit board likestructure may be readily manufactured using prepreg sheets, additionalcopper structures or the like. By taking the latter measure, the atleast one partially electrically insulating core may be manufactured. Tomake the interconnection to the wiring layer or wiring structure noplated micro vias are needed and therefore the correspondingregistration procedure can be eliminated.

For example, the wiring pattern constituting the wiring structure 110can be formed in the following way: Grooves are formed in a non-glasscloth reinforced dielectric material of the contact structure 106 whichis on the surface of the PCB in which the copper pillars of the embeddedelectronic component 104 are embedded. These grooves can be formed witha laser beam which defines the width and the depth so that the completepattern may be made with this process. The laser grooves can open thearea above the copper pillars and will enable the electrical contact tothis in a later plating process.

The registration for this grooving pattern can be done by opticalregistration to the copper pillars of the die and enable a preciseregistration of the grooves to the copper pillars. When registration tomultiple dies on a panel is needed, an adaptive imaging process may beimplemented to adapt the image of every individual die and its offsetand skew to the global image of the panel. This process enables that aproper registration of the laser grooves to each die is possible and tomake the first level interconnection to the chip.

The finalization of the pattern may be done as follows: Electrolessplating of the grooves and the surface of the corresponding (forinstance bare epoxide) surface of the PCB is carried out, followed bygalvanic plating for filling the grooves. Then, chemical mechanicalpolishing (CMP) may be performed to remove the plated surface copper.

Before embedding the electronic component 104 in the accommodationvolume defined by the core 102, the electronic component 104 isconnected to the coupling body 106 consisting of a homogeneousdielectric material in which the through-connections 108 embodied asparallel aligned copper pillars are integrated. For this purpose, arecess can be formed in the coupling body 106 for accommodating theelectronic component 104 (which can be connected there by adhering).After this connection procedure for connecting electronic component 104and coupling body 106 to one another, the latter arrangement is insertedinto the accommodation volume of the core 102 and the mentionedconstituents may be connected by applying pressure. Subsequently, thelower main surface 120 of the component carrier 100 is made subject of alaser drilling treatment, wherein a trajectory along which a laser beam(not shown) acts on the surface material on the lower main surface 120of the component carrier 100 defines the shape of the wiring structure110. In a corresponding way, the upper main surface 118 may be treatedfor defining wiring structure 116.

Filling the recesses in the exposed surface portion of the coupling body106, as well as optionally in the exposed surface portion of the core102 at the lower main surface 120, may then be accomplished by acombination of an electroless metal deposition procedure and asubsequent galvanic deposition procedure. The so filled recesses maystill have metallic protrusions extending beyond the coupling body 106which can be planarized by mechanical-chemical polishing (CMP).

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a component carrier 100according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 showsa modification of FIG. 1 in which thin copper foils (not shown in FIG.2) are attached temporarily on the outside of the PCB during themanufacturing procedure (compare FIG. 8 to FIG. 12). Furthermore,palladium (Pd) doped dielectric (see reference numerals 202 and 200) maybe used for obtaining a CMP free process.

The modification of the copper patterning process can be done in thefollowing way: Instead of using a non-glass cloth reinforced material asexposed dielectric material of coupling body 106 (see FIG. 1), anadditional coupling layer 202 made of a non-class cloth reinforcedmaterial with a palladium doped resin is used according to FIG. 2. Thecoupling body 106 together with the coupling layer 202 form a couplingstructure according to FIG. 2. During the manufacturing procedure, onboth sides of the PCB a thin copper foil (typically 1 μm to 2 μmthickness) is laminated. This construction enables a process where onlylaser grooves formed in coupling layer 202 are plated and the CMPprocess is not needed. Not using a CMP is a benefit because it is acostly process which requires a very flat PCB with thickness tolerancesin the micrometer range.

A possible corresponding process flow for manufacturing the componentcarrier 100 according to FIG. 2 is as the following one:

-   -   Photoresist lamination on thin outer layer copper    -   Imaging with registration on fiducials placed on the core layer    -   Development of resist    -   Etching of exposed thin copper foil    -   Removal of exposed resin layer and thickness reduction of        pho-toresist by processes like plasma, RIE or Excimer laser    -   Electroless plating of Pd doped material (only or substantially        only this material will be plated)    -   Electroplating    -   Stripping of resist and flash etch of thin copper foil

The benefit of such a manufacturing method and the correspondingcomponent carrier 100 shown in FIG. 2 is that with one photo imageprocess a metal mask for the laser ablation process for the Pd dopedmaterial is formed and the photoresist protects the metal mask to beexposed during the laser ablation process. Having this construction thesurface of the photoresist will be not metallized and only the grooveswill be metallized and the thin copper foil which acts as a mask in thelaser ablation process enables the electrical interconnection for thegalvanic plating process in the grooves.

For this procedure, at least the exterior surface portion of thecoupling layer 202 may comprise the mentioned palladium doped resin, oralternatively a copper oxide doped resin. In FIG. 2, not only theexposed surface portion of the coupling layer 202 can comprise a dopant(for instance palladium). In contrast to this, also the exposed layer200 on the opposing main surface 118 may be made of such a material, sothat a corresponding manufacturing method can be applied here as well.Thus, the described manufacturing procedure as well as the correspondingadvantages hold for the exposed dielectric surface portions of bothopposing main surfaces 118, 120.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a component carrier 100according to yet another exemplary embodiment of the invention.According to FIG. 3, an interconnection with microvias (asthrough-connections 108) to die (as embedded electronic component 104)made together with the grooves in bare laminate are implemented insteadof using copper pillar interconnections (as in FIG. 1). As can be takenfrom FIG. 3, the copper pillars of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 can be substitutedby vias filled with electrically conductive material.

FIG. 4 to FIG. 7 illustrate structures obtained during carrying out amethod of manufacturing a component carrier 100 according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention. With this method, a componentcarrier 100 corresponding to the one shown in FIG. 1 can be obtained.

FIG. 4 shows an electronic component 104, such is a semiconductor chipwith pads or other kind of chip contacts 160, which is to be embeddedwithin a component carrier 100 to be manufactured, making use of acoupling body 106. The prefabricated coupling body 106 comprises amatrix 402 of pure resin (i.e. free of glass fibers) having copperpillars as vertically extending through-connections 108 in an interiorof the matrix 402. The through-connections 108 are circular cylindricalcopper pillars having exposed component contacting ends 112 at a topthereof and having wiring contacting ends 114 at the bottom thereof, thelatter being buried within the matrix 402. As can furthermore be takenfrom FIG. 4, a layer of a soft, liquid, viscous or flowable adhesivestructure 400 is applied on the exposed component contacting ends 112 ofthe through-connection 108.

While the adhesive structure 400 is still liquid, the electroniccomponent 104 and the coupling body 106 are pressed together (see arrows404) with the adhesive structure 400 in between so that, since the padsor electric contacts 160 of the electronic component slightly protrudeover the rest of the component body, the adhesive material of theadhesive structure 400 flows away at contact positions between theelectric contacts 160 and the component contact ends 112 of thethrough-connections 108. The adhesive structure 400 is then at leastpartially hardened or cured so as to mechanically connect the electroniccomponent 104 with the coupling body 106. A direct electric contactbetween the electric contacts 160 and the through-connections 108 istherefore established.

Another method to produce a structure according to FIG. 4 is to platethe copper pillars 400 on the contact pads 160 on the wafer and coat inthe next step this side of the wafer with a polymer material (formingpart of the coupling structure 106) and cure it. In next step (notshown) the wafer may be diced to the single structures (being dice)shown in FIG. 4

As can be taken from FIG. 5, the arrangement formed in accordance withFIG. 4 is then inserted into an accommodation volume formed in core 102.The core 102 can be assembled from a plurality of stacked preprocessedprepreg foils or other appropriate material (preferably, at least at andclose to opposing main surfaces 118, 120, the material of the core 102has homogeneous ablation properties, as for instance provided by pureresin, as will be described below in further detail). The insertionprocedure is performed in a way that the electronic component 104 isembedded by material of the core 102 and material of the coupling body106. As indicated by arrows 500, the mentioned constituents of thestructure are then connected to one another by applying mechanicalpressure, if desired or required accompanied by the supply of thermalenergy.

Hence, an accommodation volume is formed within the core 102 foraccommodating the electronic component 104, and the core 102 isconnected with the electronic component 104 by pressing. The methodfurther comprises embedding the electronic component 104 in theelectrically insulating core 102, providing the coupling body 106 withthe electrically conductive through-connections 108 extendingtherethrough and being formed with component contacting end 112 andwiring contacting end 114, and electrically contacting the electroniccomponent 104 directly to the component contacting end 112. Theelectronic component 104 is connected to the coupling body 106 prior toembedding the electronic component 104 in the core 102. The methodfurther comprises providing soft adhesive structure 400 between theelectronic component 104 and the component contact ends 112 at anexposed surface of the coupling body 106, and pressing the electroniccomponent 104 and the coupling body 106 together to thereby squeeze thesoft adhesive away from a contact area between the component contactends 112 and the electric contacts 160 of the electronic component 104.

The so obtained structure, compare FIG. 6, is then made subject of asurface ablation procedure, for instance by laser treatment. By takingthis measure, an arrangement of recesses 600 is formed in surfaceportions of both opposing main surfaces 118, 120 of the so obtainedstructure. At the lower main surface 120 and in the region where thecoupling body 106 is exposed to the environment, the recess structure600 exposes the wiring contacting ends 114 of the through-connections108. Highly advantageously, at least the material of the matrix 402 ofthe coupling body 600 (and preferably also the material of the core 102exposed to the environment at the two opposing main surfaces 118, 120)is formed of a material with homogeneous ablation properties, forexample pure resin (in particular without glass fibers). For designingthe recess structure 600 and therefore for designing the subsequentlyformed wiring structure 110 (see FIG. 7), the laser beam is guided alonga freely definable trajectory along a respective one of the mainsurfaces 118, 120 to selectively ablate material here for defining adesired wiring pattern.

Referring to FIG. 6, the method therefore provides at least an exteriorsurface portion of the coupling body 106 with homogeneous ablationproperties, and patterns the exterior surface portion so as to formsurface recesses by laser drilling to constitute the recess structure600.

In order to obtain the component carrier 100 according to an exemplaryembodiment as shown in FIG. 7, the recesses of the recess structure 600are then filled with electrically conductive material, preferablycopper, by first carrying out an electroless deposition procedure,followed by a subsequent galvanic deposition of additional electricallyconductive material. This forms wiring structure 110 which directlycontacts the through-connections 108 at the wiring contacting ends 114.In order to obtain the planarized component carrier 100 shown in FIG. 7,it is possible to subsequently treat the opposing main surfaces 118, 120by chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP).

Hence, the method further comprises filling the surface recesses with anelectrically conductive wiring structure 110 so that the wiringcontacting end 114 is electrically contacted directly to the wiringstructure 110. The wiring structure 110 is fully embedded within thesurface portion of the coupling body 106 without protruding beyond thesurface portion. Filling the surface recesses formed by the patterningcan be performed for example by an electroless deposition ofelectrically conductive material followed by a galvanic deposition offurther electrically conductive material (or using another process). Themethod is completed by polishing the exposed surface portion of thecoupling body 106 and the exposed wiring structure 110 by CMP.

FIG. 8 to FIG. 12 illustrate structures obtained during carrying out amethod of manufacturing a component carrier 100 according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the invention. With this method, a componentcarrier 100 corresponding to the one shown in FIG. 2 can be obtained.

In order to obtain structure 800 shown in FIG. 8, a procedure similar tothat according to FIG. 5 is applied. However, wiring contacting ends 114are exposed with regard to the dielectric material of the matrix 402 ofthe coupling body 106 according to FIG. 8. Alternatively, the wiringcontacting ends 114 may also be buried within the dielectric material ofthe coupling body 106, as in FIG. 5.

Subsequently, a coupling layer 202, which may for instance be made of apalladium doped non-cloth resin, is attached to an exposed lower mainsurface of the coupling body 106 and of the core 102. Then, a metal masklayer 802 (for instance a copper sheet, which may for instance have athickness between 1 μm and 2 μm) may be attached on the coupling layer202. Thereafter, a photoresist layer 804 may be formed (for instancedeposited) on the metal mask layer 802. Thus, according to the describedmethod, electrically conductive mask layer 802 and photoresist layer 804are attached on the exterior surface portion of the coupling layer 202.

In order to obtain structure 900 shown in FIG. 9, the metal mask layer802 and the photoresist layer 804 may be patterned to form a pluralityof recesses 900 in accordance with a desired wiring structure to beformed. This can be carried out by an appropriate etching procedure tothereby expose certain surface portions of the coupling layer 202. Themethod hence continues with the patterning of the photoresist layer 804and the electrically conductive mask layer 802 to thereby expose part ofthe exterior surface portion of the coupling layer 202.

In order to obtain structure 1000 shown in FIG. 10, a further materialremoval procedure is carried out to further deepen the recesses 900, forinstance by reactive ion etching or laser ablation, to thereby thin thephotoresist layer 804 and, even more important, to remove exposedsurface portions of the coupling layer 202 so as to expose portions ofthe wiring structure ends 114. In other words, material of the exposedpart of the exterior surface portion of the coupling layer 202 isremoved to thereby expose parts of the wiring contacting ends 114,preferably by a laser treatment.

In order to obtain structure 1100 shown in FIG. 11, electricallyconductive material such as copper is firstly deposited by electrolessplating to thereby form an electroless plating structure 1102 within therecesses 900 selectively on material of the palladium doped resincoupling layer 202 and the wiring structure ends 114 (compare detail1110). In contrast to this, substantially no electrically conductivematerial will be deposited on the photoresist layer 804 during theelectroless plating procedure. Subsequently, further electricallyconductive material such as copper is formed on the electroless platingstructure 1102 to thereby form an electro-plating structure 1104,compare detail 1110. During this electroplating procedure an electricvoltage may be applied to the electrically conductive metal mask layer802. Thereby, a wiring structure 110 is formed which is constituted bythe electroless plating structure 1102 and the electroplating structure1104. By the described procedure, the formed recesses in the couplinglayer 202 are filled with electrically conductive material to therebyform the wiring structure 110.

In order to obtain component carrier 100 shown in FIG. 12, thephotoresist layer 804 and the metal mask layer 802 are removed. Nochemical mechanical polishing is necessary in view of the describedformation of the wiring structure 110 which is composed of theelectroless plating structure 1102 and the electroplating structure1104.

FIG. 13 illustrates a wafer 1310, prior to singularization, comprising aplurality of structures similar to those shown in FIG. 4 obtained bysemiconductor processing as monolithically integrated body.

As can be taken from FIG. 13, a common semiconductor substrate 1300, inparticular a silicon wafer, comprises a plurality of individual sectionswhich can be singularized by separating (for instance sawing) them alongseparation lines 1304. Each of these sections comprises a respective oneof multiple electronic components 104 and part of a respective one of aplurality of coupling bodies 106 which are integrally formed in commonsemiconductor substrate 1300. Integrated circuit elements 1302 (such asan array of transistors, etc.) are monolithically integrated within thesemiconductor substrate 1300 to thereby form the respective electroniccomponent 104. A plurality of through-connections 108, embodied ascopper pillars, extend vertically through surrounding semiconductormaterial and directly contact integrated circuit elements 1300. Acoupling layer 202, for example a polymer layer (or any other materialhaving homogeneous ablation properties), is formed on top of theprocessed semiconductor wafer 1300 and can be patterned (not shown) fordefining the wiring structure 110 (not shown in FIG. 13). Aftersingularization, each of the sections may be used as a basis for forminga component carrier 100 according to exemplary embodiment of theinvention, for instance in accordance with any of the procedures shownin FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 to FIG. 12.

It should be noted that the term “comprising” does not exclude otherelements or steps and the “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. Alsoelements described in association with different embodiments may becombined.

It should also be noted that reference signs in the claims shall not beconstrued as limiting the scope of the claims.

Implementation of the invention is not limited to the preferredembodiments shown in the figures and described above. Instead, amultiplicity of variants are possible which use the solutions shown andthe principle according to the invention even in the case offundamentally different embodiments.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A component carrier for carrying electronic components, the component carrier comprising: an at least partially electrically insulating core; at least one electronic component embedded in the core; and a coupling structure with at least one electrically conductive through-connection extending at least partially therethrough and having a component contacting end and a wiring contacting end; wherein the at least one electronic component is electrically contacted directly to the component contacting end; wherein at least an exterior surface portion of the coupling structure has homogeneous ablation properties and is patterned so as to have surface recesses filled with an electrically conductive wiring structure; wherein the wiring contacting end is electrically contacted directly to the wiring structure, wherein at least the exterior surface portion of the coupling structure comprises at least one of the group consisting of a pure resin, a palladium doped resin, a copper oxide doped resin, and a photoresist, a permanent resist, wherein the at least one through-connection comprises at least one pillar, at least one circular cylindrical pillar and/or a plurality of pillars aligned in parallel to one another.
 2. The component carrier according to claim 1, embodied as one of the group consisting of a circuit board, a substrate, and an interposer, wherein the electronic component is one from a group consisting of an active electronic component, a passive electronic component, an electronic chip, a storage device, a filter, a sensor, an actuator, a microelectromechanical system, a microprocessor, a capacitor, a resistor, an inductance, a battery and a logic chip, wherein electrically insulating material of the core comprises at least one of the group consisting of resin, Bismaleimide-Triazine resin, glass fibers, prepreg material, polyimide, liquid crystal polymer, epoxy-based Build-Up Film, and FR4 material.
 3. The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein at least the exterior surface portion of the coupling structure is made of a material free of glass fibres.
 4. The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein an exterior surface of the wiring structure substantially flushes with an exterior surface of the exterior surface portion of the coupling structure.
 5. The component carrier according to claim 1, comprising at least one further electrically conductive wiring structure on a main surface of the component carrier opposing another main surface thereof, at which other main surface the exterior surface portion of the coupling structure and the wiring structure are located.
 6. The component carrier according to claim 1, comprising an adhesive structure covering at least part of an interface between the coupling structure and the at least one electronic component embedded in the core.
 7. The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the wiring structure, and the at least one through-connection comprises or consists of at least one of the group consisting of copper, aluminum, and nickel.
 8. The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein a lateral extension of traces of the wiring structure is narrower than a lateral extension of the at least one through-connection.
 9. The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein a lateral extension of traces of the wiring structure is broader than a lateral extension of the at least one through-connection.
 10. The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein the at least one through-connection has a cylindrical shape with an aspect ratio of larger than
 1. 11. The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein the coupling structure comprises or consists of a prefabricated, separate coupling body.
 12. A method of manufacturing a component carrier for carrying electronic components, the method comprising: embedding at least one electronic component in an at least partially electrically insulating core; providing a coupling structure with at least one electrically conductive through-connection extending at least partially therethrough and being formed with a component contacting end and a wiring contacting end; electrically contacting the at least one electronic component directly to the component contacting end; providing at least an exterior surface portion of the coupling structure with homogeneous ablation properties; patterning the exterior surface portion so as to form surface recesses; and filling the surface recesses with an electrically conductive wiring structure so that the wiring contacting end is electrically contacted directly to the wiring structure; the method further comprising: wherein the patterning and the filling directly electrically connect the wiring structure to at least one wiring contacting end of the at least one through-connection exposed by the patterning; wherein filling the surface recesses formed by the patterning is performed by an electroless deposition of electrically conductive material followed by a galvanic deposition of further electrically conductive material; and polishing at least the exposed surface portion of the coupling structure together with the exposed wiring structure by chemical mechanical polishing; or the method further comprising: attaching an electrically conductive mask layer and a photoresist layer on the exterior surface portion of the coupling structure; patterning the photoresist layer and the electrically conductive mask layer to thereby expose part of the exterior surface portion of the coupling structure; removing material of the exposed part of the exterior surface portion of the coupling structure to thereby expose at least part of the at least one wire contacting end by a laser treatment; filling the so formed surface recesses with electrically conductive material to thereby form the wiring structure by an electroless deposition procedure followed by a galvanic deposition procedure; removing the photoresist layer and the electrically conductive mask layer after the filling; not polishing an exposed surface after the filling by chemical mechanical polishing; and providing the at least one electronic component and at least part of the coupling structure as a monolithically integrated structure within a common semiconductor substrate.
 13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: connecting the at least one component to at least part of the coupling structure prior to embedding the at least one electronic component in the core.
 14. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: providing a soft adhesive structure between the at least one electronic component and the at least one component contact end at an exposed surface of the coupling structure; and pressing the at least one electronic component and at least part of the coupling structure together to thereby squeeze the soft adhesive away from a contact area between the component contact end and an electric contact of the at least one electronic component.
 15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the method further comprises at least one of the group consisting of the following features: forming the surface recesses by at least one of laser drilling and etching; forming at least one accommodation volume within the core; accommodating the at least one electronic component in at least part of the at least one accommodation volume; connecting the core with the at least one electronic component by pressing; and fully embedding the wiring structure within the surface portion of the coupling structure without protruding beyond the surface portion.
 16. A component carrier for carrying electronic components, the component carrier comprising: an at least partially electrically insulating core; at least one electronic component embedded in the core; a coupling structure with at least one electrically conductive through-connection extending at least partially therethrough and having a component contacting end and a wiring contacting end; wherein the at least one electronic component is electrically contacted directly to the component contacting end; wherein at least an exterior surface portion of the coupling structure has homogeneous ablation properties and is patterned so as to have surface recesses filled with an electrically conductive wiring structure; wherein the wiring contacting end is electrically contacted directly to the wiring structure, wherein the component carrier comprises at least one of the following features: the component carrier includes a combination of a coupling body and a coupling layer being arranged at least partially on the coupling body; an electric interface between the at least one electronic component and the at least one through-connection is free of a redistribution layer; and the at least one electronic component and at least part of the coupling structure are integrally formed in a semiconductor substrate.
 17. A component carrier for carrying electronic components, the component carrier comprising: an at least partially electrically insulating core; at least one electronic component embedded in the core; a coupling structure with at least one electrically conductive through-connection extending at least partially therethrough and having a component contacting end and a wiring contacting end; wherein the at least one electronic component is electrically contacted directly to the component contacting end; wherein at least an exterior surface portion of the coupling structure has homogeneous ablation properties and is patterned so as to have surface recesses filled with an electrically conductive wiring structure; wherein the wiring contacting end is electrically contacted directly to the wiring structure, wherein dielectric material of the coupling structure comprises a matrix and filler particles embedded in the matrix, wherein the material of the matrix and of the filler particles together define the homogeneous ablation properties of the exterior surface portion of the coupling structure; wherein the filler particles are selected from a group consisting of beads, glass spheres, and organic fibres. 